Don’t Buy: Lack of Rock
I’ve recently started reading Stereogum again. I used to and then just got lazy and overwhelmed by the amount of news that can come out of the genre of music.
In a recent article they talk about Jay Reatard visiting the AOL studios. I’ve never heard of him, but they painted him as ‘the next Kurt Cobain’ since he’s freaking out about getting famous. So I tuned in to the videos and was immediately excited as the three-piece started wailing on Flying-V’s. YES! As a musician and hard rock prodigy I grew up with Fu Manchu, Kyuss, Soundgarden, The Toadies, Atomic Bitchwax, and all the heavy bands in between who fueled the 90’s underground with a reason to flip out whenever you felt like it, and wear shitty clothing.
However upon further listening I became sorely disappointed. The lyrics and his voice are awful. He sounds like the dude from Art Brut (yea, that bad). The distortion on the guitars sound like a shitty stomp box. The bassist reminds me of the dude from Balls of Fury. And the worst part? His solos suck.
Jay Reatard and his retard friends can throw down some good riffs, but they’ll never be bigger than a shitty high school garage rock band. The real rock groups had substance. It was heavy, it was real. Chris Cornell could choose if he wanted his voice to shatter glass or your face. Cobain’s lyrics resonated through an entire generation. If this guy is being marketed as ‘the next Kurt Cobain’ then record execs have truly lost it.
And it’s more than just Reatard that makes this a Don’t Buy. Probably the latest heavy band I can recall coming onto the scene, Wolfmother, just broke up before finishing their second album. Dammit. Hopefully two more bands equally as good spring up out of the grave, but rumors are that frontman/guitarist Andrew Stockdale plans to just find replacements to his three-piece and continue Wolfmother. IMO, horrible idea. Wolfmother had one amazing album they rode for a few years…let it die like that. Sure you could find other musicians and make great music, but it won’t be Wolfmother. Just make a new band and continue on that way.
In related disappointing news: Jack White has teamed up with Alicia Keys to make the new 007 single, and they don’t mix well. The White Stripes would be second to Wolfmother on recent rockers (I would say The Raconteurs, but their single somehow managed to be overplayed within a month. Damn advertising). Queens of the Stone Ages’ latest album Era Vulgaris has to be one of the hardest rockin albums of 2007, and it went virtually unnoticed (until it mysteriously arrived on Guitar Hero and Rockband).
I’m not saying there isn’t any good music out there, but it’s all indie and electronica. Where’s the rock? Where’s the bass riffs and lead guitars and heavy fuzz and wailing? Even metal is running dry with Dragonforce being over 2 years old. Guitar Hero and Rockband are controlling our youth, and they still aren’t getting it. Even older bands keep re-forming because they see it. And they’ve all been disasters except for RATM. I know there are some good rock groups left (Awesome Color, Nebula, The Black Keys), so we need to push them further up the ladder. It seems that rock bands can’t quite make it to ‘Stardom’ status anymore…and that’s a Don’t Buy.
Say hello to your supposed future of rock:
So please share in the comments if you know of a band that can replace these guys as the next big hard rockers.
Here’s my vote (Spiritualized):
Loading ...
7 Comments, Comment or Ping
Spiritualized can really rock!! But I don’t have any bands for you. Besides the Wedding Present and Liars, I’m in a rocky drought.
dramarama
I saw Spiritualized this summer at Pitchfork. They blew me away. The best mosh moment I have had in a while was also at Pitchfork for this Japanese punk band Boris.
@reb - I recently went to the JapaNoodle Fever Tour and saw the best live band I’ve seen in awhile, a Japanese punk/metal band named Quaff. It was like 80s hair metal was revived right before my eyes!
Japan must be stepping up their game
I think I just fell in love with My Shadow!
That song was awesome! And I don’t know what you’re talking about Spiritualized being your vote for the future of rock when they’ve been around for 20 years (even more when you include Spacemen 3).
Wolfmother is not bad, but, and this is where the comparison to Kurt Cobain is valid, Jay Reatard is not merely derivative. Clearly respectful of his rock’n'roll forebears, with an irreverence based on drugs and humility, Reatard is everything Wolfmother is not. And makes music straight from the “I don’t know what else I COULD do” mentality, putting him in league with people like Anton Newcombe and Lou Barlow.
Shitty clothing for Reatard is just that, whereas shitty clothing for Wolfmother is poor styling on your lame ass fuckin foto shoot. Their flashy blues rock is indicative of the tried and true Gods of Rock mentality and influence (Zep, Stones, Neil Young, Dylan/Band…through to the White Stripes), and it’s been done better a million times before. But it’s pretty clear that Jay Reatard is crafting a music that jives with history, but is also completely unique to his undying energy for doing whatever comes natural.
@travor - yea I had never heard of them before…did a little research and couldn’t believe they are from 1990, yet they are only playing Letterman now in 2008! Guess they’ve been “underground” or just decided not to come to the states? Now I’m going to have to look into getting all their older music, and check out Spaceman 3, cause Pierce rocks.
In regards to Wolfmother, I would say that at least I could get into it. Yea its tried and true…its simplified. I’ve seen a lot of that ’simplifying’ technique lately with Yeah Yeah Yeahs and White Stripes, and it works. But its not new, your right. (and I don’t think they wear shitty clothing or have a ‘look’ their label gave them actually)
I would bet that your older than I am, having known about Spiritualized, so you most likely have been following the rock culture longer. However, I would argue that I just couldn’t get into Reatard. I have the points on why up there in my post. I couldn’t connect to it. I’m not sure what, but there has to be other directions one can bring rock culture. I don’t think Reatard’s direction is a good one. But to each his own.
Reply to “Don’t Buy: Lack of Rock”